Digital USB TV receiver for mac

My TV is just on the brink of dying, but I don't have the money to buy a new one quite yet.

As such, I'm looking for a cheap digital USB tuner to last me a few weeks until I get some dosh.

It needs to be mac-compatible and should have a regular aerial-in port. I'm not too bothered about the quality, so long as I can see a reasonable picture!

The few I have found so far here on HUKD mention nothing about mac-compatibility, so I wanted to be certain before buying. The only ones I have found that explicitly state they are mac-compatible are way too much money.

All Responses

TV tuners work for either mac or windows, not for both. (EDIT: Not completely true, see post #7) So if you see one that is advertised for windows it wont work on a mac unless you're running parallels or boot camp etc.
I expect the ones advertised on hukd are for windows only.
The ones that do work for mac are more expensive and I wouldn't recommend purchasing one if you're planning on using it just as a temporary replacement for your TV. The picture quality are pretty good on all tuners as they receive digital signal; what you see mostly depends on your aerial. If you really want a mac tuner then I would recommend an Elgato eyeTV model, prices starting from around £40, their eyeTV software is excellent.

My bestfriend has a mac (the one that's like a flat screen?) not the g3... um, she has a tv receiver on hers. Yet to ask her about it though =) so you can get them. but as someone said you do need a license, I checked before i came to uni. Anything that receives signal needs a license.

Unfortunately not - you basically need a license for anything that receives/plays tv signal....including computer tuners, and even those tiny watch-sized tellies you can get!

Back to the windows/mac compatibility issue; I've found the Equinux TubeStick which is designed for mac, but states it is also windows-compatible.

Does this mean it simply has 2 chipsets inside it, so that it can be recognised by both platforms, or is there a possibility that some will actually work on both?

I found out some info too. Some tuners can work with both mac and windows but the developers only write the drivers for one platform (mainly windows due to the amount of users).

There is a work around. The guys who make the Elgato tuners for mac also create the brilliant software, eyeTV. This mac software includes mac drivers for some (initially) windows only tuners, such as Hauppauge tuners.
Here is a list of tuners that are compatible with the eyeTV software. The software isn't freeware but there are ways that it can be obtained without paying. :whistling:

So, you might be able to get a cheaper tuner working perfectly on a mac!